Harry Potter and the Suspenseful Secret
by Donna Belmont
Summary: As Harry begins to questions his life and why he's living, a terrible event happens that pushes him over the edge. When he thinks nothing in the world could be worse, he is confronted with the worst secret he could have imagined.


**Harry Potter and the Suspenseful Secret**

Harry sat on the edge of his bed, peering through his dusty, locked window inside of his small secluded room. Harry did this everyday, hoping to see some trace of Ron and the Weesley twins', but today, all he saw was a cloud-filled sky. He had been wondering if they were going to get him this summer or not, but he was now beginning to lose hope.

"Boy, get down here this second!" Screeched Uncle Vernon from down in the hallway. Harry sighed and opened the door to see his Uncle's unusually red face.

"What do you want?" Harry demanded.

"Don't use that tone with me, boy. Have you seen Dudley today, we can't seem to find him. You must have something to do with this!" Uncle Vernon accused.

"Why would I do anything with him? I haven't seen him all day either, and frankly, I don't really care to." Harry stated bluntly. Uncle Vernon began to grow very angry at this rude comment.

"If you are going to be smart with me, you can stay in your room the rest of the night!" Uncle Vernon shoved Harry back into his room and closed the door and locked it then stated, "Don't plan on getting dinner either!"

Harry walked across the room and pulled out the picture of his parents. The picture always seemed to calm him whenever he was angry. As he stared at his picture, he started to wonder if their sacrifice for him was even worth it. He felt that his situation right now was so bad, it would have been better not to have survived, as it was, Voldemort and all of his followers were after him and he lived with the worst family in the world, was this really better than death, he wondered. Before he could finish that thought, there was a tap at his window, he looked out and to his bewilderment, Ron was staring in.

"Hey Ron, I was wondering if you were ever going to get me!" Harry said as he lifted the window.

"Well, it took a little longer than we had expected. We're taking the night bus home, I wasn't able to take my dad's car, and it's not really working after what happened with the tree." Ron replied.

"That's okay, as long as I leave this place, I don't care how we get there." Harry remarked with relief.

Harry walked over to his closet and pulled out his trunk that was already pre-packed and he grabbed Hedwig's cage. He unhitched the window and climbed out, following Ron towards the park, where the bus was to pick them up. As Harry sat down on the curb with Ron, he noticed Dudley off in the distance.

"Crap, He better not come over here!" Harry demanded worriedly.

Before Dudley had the chance to even see them, the bus pulled up to the curb and they scrambled on. As they walked towards the back, Harry was surprised to see Hermione along with the Weesley twins'.

"Hi Harry! I've missed you so much!" Hermione squealed as she threw herself onto Harry in a gigantic hug.

"Hey, Harry!" The Weesley twins' said simultaneously.

"Hey, nice seeing you again." Harry replied.

As they all reminisced, the bus sped away, taking them to Ron's house.

"So Harry, how have you been?" Hermione questioned. Harry knew she was wondering how he was after Sirius' death. He had not wanted to think of it at all after he left Hogwart's. Every night he would have dreams that Sirius would come back, but he knew it was not true. He knew he was gone forever, just as his parents were.

"I'm fine." Harry replied. Feeling as though it were unnecessary to mention Sirius.

After a few long moments of awkward silence, the bus pulled to a stop in front of the house. Immediately, Mrs. Weesley was outside to greet them.

"Oh, Harry. It's so nice to see you again. How have you been?" She asked as she came towards him.

"I'm fine; it's nice to see you too." He stammered, it was getting harder for him to forget about Sirius with each question they implied.

They all walked as one into the Weesley's kitchen, where there was a kettle of tea waiting for them. As they all sat there drinking the tea, they caught up on the events of their summer's. Halfway through, Harry interrupted, announcing that he was tired and was going to go get settled.

"Okay, just go on up to my room. I should be up a little later." Said Ron.

Harry walked up the staircase and opened the door to Ron's room. As soon as he walked into the room, Harry felt a tear streak down his face. How could he have survived all summer without thinking of Sirius, he asked himself? It hurt so bad to realize that a person he had grown so close to had died again, how many times would he have to go through this he wondered. Wasn't once enough? Harry thrust himself onto Ron's bed and began to cry, thinking of the events of Sirius's death. As he lay there, there was a knock at his door.

"Just a second. I'm changing." He lied. Harry wiped the tears from his face and dabbed his eyes to relieve the redness and puffiness.

"Come in." He said. Hermione walked in, immediately she could tell something was wrong.

"Are you okay Harry?" She asked.

Harry knew he couldn't hold it any longer, he began to cry again. Hermione rushed over and hugged him.

"I'm so sorry." She mumbled.

Harry cried into her as she held him close. After many minutes, Harry finally looked up and looked into her eyes. They seemed so different for some reason to him, they seemed sad. Harry moved in and before he could realize what he was doing, he moved his lips to her's and they kissed. As surprising as it was for both of them, they sensed it was coming.

"Oh my God!" Ron screamed. "What are you guys doing?"

Harry and Hermione separated immediately. They stared at Ron blankly, not even knowing how to respond.

"I knew you guys liked each other." Ron said proudly. "I just never knew I would figure out this way." He said. All three of them looked at each other and began to laugh.

That night as Harry and Ron got settled for bed, Ron asked, "So, how was your kiss with Hermione?"

Harry smirked, "What's it to you?"

"I was just wondering. So really, how was it?" Ron demanded.

"It was good; I never knew how much I really liked her until then." Harry informed.

While Harry was sleeping that night, he dreamed that he was in one of the corridors of Hogwart's with Hermione and Sirius, and Sirius suddenly turned into flames and Harry and Hermione were helpless alone in the dark corridor, unable to do anything. Harry awoke, unable to close his eyes again. He wished there were no such thing as nightmares, he couldn't remember the last time he actually had a nice dream.

The next morning, Mrs. Weesley took all the kids to Diagon Alley to do all of the school shopping. While they were there, Harry happened to see Hagrid, whom he gave a hug and chatted with for many minutes before they left for the next store.

When they reentered the house after their long day of shopping, they were greeted by a flamboyant Mr. Weesley.

"Oh, Harry. It's so wonderful to see you again!" He announced excitedly. Harry noticed the Mr. Weesley was beginning to look skinnier than even the last time he saw him.

"It's nice to see you too." Harry said, relieved that Mr. Weesley had not asked about Sirius.

After settling in and putting all the bags down, Harry, Ron, and Hermione walked up the stairs to Ron's room.

"Do you mind if I ask you guys a question?" Ron asked.

"No, go ahead Ron." Hermione replied, bewildered.

"I was just wondering if you guys were actually going out."

Harry and Hermione looked toward each other, unknowingly. Hermione winked at Harry and Harry understood immediately.

"Yes Ron, We are going out." He informed.

Ron smiled. "I'm glad; I always thought you guys were right for each other."

The next morning, they all packed their belongings for their stay at Hogwarts.

"I can't believe it's finally time to go." Harry said excitedly.

"I know, I've been excited all summer." Hermione announced.

The three ran downstairs and announced that they were ready to go.

"Okay, let's get a move on then." Announced Mrs. Weesley.

"Ginny, you best hurry up." Demanded Ron.

"We'll just wait for her in the car." Mrs. Weesley said.

An hour later, they pulled up in front of the train station and scrambled out of the car. They grabbed their bags and walked to the wall and ran straight through into their station. A few moments later the big Hogwart's train pulled to a stop in front of the large crowd. Harry peered around the crowd, seeing all the children so excited and the parents hugging their children as though they would never see them again. Harry wished ever-so-much that he could be one of those lucky children with caring parents. He wished that for once, he had someone who really did care for him.

"Harry, you better hurry up dear. The train is loading." Mrs. Weesley confirmed.

Harry immediately snapped back to reality.

"Okay, thanks for having me over Mrs. Weesley. I really appreciate it." Harry thanked.

"Of course Harry. I'd be glad to have you anytime. Have a great year at Hogwarts."

Harry ran to catch up with Ron and Hermione and they all stepped on to the train together.

"Where should we sit? How about in the back right there?" Ron insisted, pointing to an empty room.

The three moved over and sat down, and soon afterward the train began to start the long journey. Harry looked to his right outside of the window; the sky looked so gloomy, as though it were sad. It always seemed to appear this way to him, he wondered why this was. As they all sat chatting, there was a rap at the door.

"Come in." Harry offered. When the door was opened, Cho Chang was standing there.

"Hi, Harry. I just wanted to come by and say hi since it has been a while since I've seen you." She said, as though she were sorry.

"Hey, it's nice seeing you. How was your summer?" Harry asked.

"Oh it was pretty good; kind of boring though. How was yours?"

"Same, it was pretty boring." Harry replied.

"Oh, well then I better get back. I'll see you at school. Bye!" Cho said.

Cho walked away in the graceful way she always seemed to walk. Harry looked at Hermione, reminding himself that they were now going out and that he shouldn't even be considering Cho. This year was going to be different, he could sense it.

An hour later, the bus pulled to a stop in front of Hogwarts. The students stood up hurriedly and milled out of the train in a large crowd. Harry stepped out into the crisp, gloomy air. Now he knew something was different. The students marched to that doors and they were escorted into the Great Hall. When they got there, the speaker was not Dumbledore, but Professor McGonigall. All the students seated themselves at their tables and the first years stood in the back, waiting for placement.

"Students, hurry along and take your seats please." Professor McGonigall asked.

When the students were all seated, Professor McGonigall began, "Students, this year at Hogwarts, a lot will be different. One thing I'm sure you are all wondering is why I am talking and not Professor Dumbledore. Well students as much as it pains me to announce this," She took a tissue and dabbed at her eye. "Last night, Albus Dumbledore died peacefully in his sleep."

The whole room gasped. No one had ever imagined Dumbledore ever actually dying.

"I'm sorry to have to tell all of you this. In the upcoming year, I will be your Headmaster. I will be able to assist you in any ways."

Harry looked over and heard Malfoy whispering to Goyle.

"It's about time he died. He was as old as it gets." Malfoy snickered.

How could this happen? He was the person who knew more about me than I knew about myself, Harry thought to himself. I can't take this anymore, why does everyone I love die?

Harry stood up at his table and looked Hermione and Ron.

"I'm sorry. I can't take this anymore." Harry whispered.

Harry stepped over the seat and ran out of the Great Hall, all eyes watching his every step. Harry opened the door to the outside and he ran out and into the dark forest at the spot where he once had a run-in with Voldemort.

"If he wants to kill me so bad, he can kill me right here." Harry said to himself.

Harry sat on a log and waited hoping for something to show up and kill him. Suddenly, there was a rustling of the leaves. Harry looked behind him, he saw a tall dark figure emerging.

"So, your world been flipped upside down has it Harry. Your perfect little life isn't so perfect anymore, huh. Oh how sad." The raspy voice said.

"Who are you?" Harry asked.

"Who do you think Harry? I'm the one man you wish were here right now." The figure implied.

"Voldemort?" Harry questioned.

"Oh you wish it were, no. I'm the last person you would ever expect. I'll go ahead and tell you, I'm your father." The man stated.

"What, my father's dead." Harry demanded.

"That's what you thought. That's what I wanted everyone to think, but you were all wrong. I've been alive the whole time. I killed your mom and Voldemort tried to kill you, but no you had to screw the whole plan didn't you. Voldemort said I could have befriended him and been part of his followers, but no, you ruined everything."

"What. You tried to kill us, but why?" Harry asked.

"I loved you guys, don't get me wrong, but when Voldemort offered me the chance to be a survivor of course I took it, he said the only way this could be was if I killed your mom. He wanted to kill you himself. It hurt at first, knowing I would have to kill my own family, but I grew used to it. Now I'm here to finish the plan."

The figure moved in toward Harry. This time Harry didn't fight, he didn't want to live this time. The figure shoved his wand in Harry's face.

"Good-bye Harry." He had said before he took the wand and Harry was killed by his own will, no objections.

The man looked down at his dead son, smiling.

**Life After Death**

"Ron, we must go get Harry!" Hermione whispered.

"We can't just get up and leave. I'm sure he's okay." Ron replied reassuringly, but deep down he knew that something was wrong and that Harry was not okay.

They sat there in silence for a moment, and then they both realized that they needed to find Harry. They stood up and walked out of the castle.

"Where do you think he went to?" Ron asked.

"Look at the ground, I think those are his footprints, they lead into the Dark Forest." Hermione implied.

They began to walk slowly towards the forest, following the footprints. Ron began to grow very scared after the incident with the spiders in their past visit to the forest.

"Hermione, are you sure we should go in there, these could be someone else's footprints." Ron stated, worriedly.

"Ron, you know these are Harry's. Now stop being a baby and hurry up with me."

Ron and Hermione walked in silence towards the forest, before they even got there, they could hear Harry's voice. It had sounded as though he were talking to someone.

"Ron, do you hear that?" Hermione asked.

"Yes, it sounds like Harry."

"C'mon, we have to hurry." Hermione demanded.

They were too late, when they entered the forest; they saw Harry lying on the ground, pale and breathless.

"Oh my gosh, Ron. This can't be happening." Hermione cried. She threw herself onto the ground beside Harry, crying in the night. She heard someone running, she turned around and she saw Ron leaving the forest.

"Ron, what are you doing?" Hermione screamed.

"I'm going to get help. We can't just leave him here dead." Ron cried back.

About ten minutes later, Ron was running back to the forest with Professor McGonagall.

"Oh dear. How did this happen?" She asked, frightened.

"We came out in the forest and he was lying here dead." Hermione said. "After Ron left, I started to look around, and I saw some footsteps leading over somewhere in the distance, but I didn't want to see where they lead all by myself. Will someone please go with me?"

"Here, I'll go with you. Ron you stay here with Harry." Professor McGonagall stated.

"I'm supposed to stay here alone? I can't do that." Ron cried.

"Yes, you must Ron; we need to see where the footprints lead." Hermione demanded.

Before Ron could answer, Hermione and Professor McGonagall started following the footprints into the darkness of the forest. Hermione was walking ahead; she could see the prints well.

"Look, I think they lead to that cave over there." Hermione pointed.

They walked over towards the cave and entered. It was very dark and gloomy. Hermione could hear someone stir deep within the depths of the cave.

"Be careful Hermione!" Professor McGonagall whispered.

"I know!" Hermione demanded.

Hermione inched forward; she was beginning to grow scared. She was still crying and she could barely see ahead of her in the cave. She heard a scratchy voice in the distance.

"Did you kill him, James?" Said the voice.

"Yes, it was quite easy." The other man replied. She could see the man's shadow move about.

"Do you hear that, James?" The other man asked.

"Yes, it sounds as though we have a visitor."

Hermione moved forward into the light.

"Well, look who we have here, Harry's girlfriend. You're too late my dear, he's gone." One of the men said.

"Yes, I already saw him." She said through a quivering voice. "You're….Voldemort, aren't you?" She implied.

Hermione turned around to see Professor McGonagall, but she was no longer there.

"Yes, I'm glad you noticed." He smirked. "It's too bad you have to die, you were so pretty, but we couldn't have you go running your mouth now could we!"

"HERMIONE!" Ron yelled. Hermione turned around; Ron was running into the cave towards her.

"Ron!" Hermione gasped. "What are you doing here? I told you to stay back there." Hermione said.

"I figured you might need help." He offered.

"Oh, how sad. Now I guess we're going to have to kill off both of you." Voldemort laughed.

"Oh my God, You're Voldemort. And aren't you Harry's father, I thought you were dead." Ron pointed out.

"Yes, I was supposed to be dead, but I lied, I killed Harry and his mother to be with Voldemort." James said.

"Ron, let's run away right now!" Hermione whispered to Ron.

Hermione swung around and began to run, but immediately, Voldemort was after her. Ron began to chase after both of them, but James grabbed him by his robe.

"Hermione!" Ron yelled.

It was too late though because suddenly, James' wand was in his face.

"You're too late, you can't save her. Any last wishes Ron?" James said, laughing.

"No!" Ron gasped, he was having trouble breathing, and James had a tight grip around his collar on his robe.

Hermione kept running, she knew she couldn't stop while Voldemort was right behind her, suddenly she tripped over a log. She fell to the ground. In the depths of the cave; she could hear Ron give his last attempt to live and a long screeching scream.

"There goes your friend." Voldemort said, looking down at Hermione on the ground.

"I'm going to give you an offer Hermione, you can either take it or die, and it's up to you. Now, if you would like, I'm going to offer you to join me and my loyal band of followers, we need a smart addition like you. What do you say?" He asked.

Hermione couldn't believe he was actually asking her this. She knew she would rather die than have to be with them her whole life.

"Fine just kill me now!" She yelled.

"NO!" Said a voice off in the distance. They both turned. Hermione smiled, to her bewilderment, Dumbledore was standing at the entrance of the cave.

"Dumbledore!" Hermione and Voldemort both said simultaneously.

Before Dumbledore could respond, Voldemort was gone in the blink of an eye.

"I thought you were dead." Hermione stated. And he was gone too, for it was only the ghost of Dumbledore.

Hermione ran to the end of the cave to see if Ron was still alive, but he wasn't. It was just her now, no friend to join her on her way back or in her stay at Hogwarts; she was all alone in the frightening world. On her way back, she felt as though the ghosts of her friends were with her in every step, she knew she wouldn't see them again, but she was okay. She would be fine, she hoped.


End file.
